Review: That’s Not Hay in My Hair by Juliette Turner

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

thats-not-hayThat’s Not Hay in My Hair
Juliette Turner
Zonderkidz

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Jules finishes fifth grade just in time to move from her tiny New York apartment to a 300 acre ranch in Texas. While her mom overflows with confidence that she and Jules can care for the longhorn cattle, horses, dogs and cats on their own, Jules carries some doubts. Sure enough, zany adventures abound as she and her mom struggle to find their inner cowgirls. Through it all, Jules determines to remain positive. When tragedy strikes, though, she’ll have to reevaluate her feelings for her new Texas life.

Turner really hits her stride in the scenes in which one wacky event follows another. In one, Jules struggles to get ready for school in the morning amid animals running amok. Another shows her frantically helping her party diva grandmother prepare for a Fourth of July barbecue. Lots of good-humored, clean fun.

The writing feels young, which mostly works for a story in the middle grade genre. At times the story loses focus, and lingers in scenes and dialogue that don’t really move the plot forward. Overall, it’s a sweet story with a lot of humor and heart. Jules’ struggles over changing schools definitely seem believable. I wished her peer community had been better developed. I expected there to be a little more connection with friends in the story, as those relationships become more and more important in the middle grade years. The story primarily focused on Jules’ relationships with her family members, and those feel genuine and fun.

Something about the story reminded me a little bit of the stories by Bill Wallace called Beauty (one of my favorites!) and Buffalo Gal. That’s Not Hay in My Hair is a lighter story about a modern city-girl-gone-cowgirl. But readers who’ve enjoyed one should consider trying the others.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Several mentions of animal poop. At one point Jules slips on a cow patty.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Jules mentions the church she and her mother attended weekly while they lived in New York. She also attends a Christian school, and at one point her teacher asks her to share a favorite Bible verse. Jules doesn’t know one off the top of her head, so she names a reference she sees on a classmate’s notebook. She or her mom pray at different points in the story. After the death of one of the animals, Jules wonders if the animal is in heaven. She sees an image of the animal that makes her believe so.

The vet briefly references a Native American burial tradition.

Violent Content
Jules and her mom live on and work a 300 acre ranch with cattle, horses, dogs and cats. At one point, an animal has to be put down. A vet handles everything.

Drug Content
None.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

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Review: I Wish My Teacher Knew by Kyle Schwartz

Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, , , ,

I Wish My Teacher Knew
Kyle Schwartz
De Capo Lifelong Books
Available July 12, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When her Twitter post became a social media sensation, Kyle Schwartz realized that her classroom exercise asking students what they wished she, their teacher, knew about them was something other teachers and students needed in their classrooms. In her book, Schwartz explores what led her to performing the exercise with her class. She explains how it has changed her experience as a teacher. She breaks down her approach to building a community within her classroom and how important that is to supporting a successful learning environment.

The chapters also connect current research about trauma, grief, and poverty and their effects on children’s abilities to learn. With those things in mind, Schwartz relates her own experience. In the book she also shares stories from other teachers and students which address these issues.

I Wish My Teacher Knew is part an inspirational tale about how teachers matter and have an incredible opportunity to affect the lives of their students and part a gentle how-to resource for recreating a successful community environment to support both academic and personal growth for students.

As a parent, this book helped me understand that teachers have broader goals than simply instructing students on basic subjects like math, science, reading, and history. The importance of a classroom community makes sense to me now on a much deeper level. I’d kind of assumed that those community elements were more a happy accident than a carefully cultivated environment actually designed to support the students’ learning ability. It makes a lot of sense to address issues like trauma and grief because of the direct effect on a child’s ability to focus in the midst of those challenges. I simply never considered the purposeful way teachers implement these elements into their classrooms.

I’m so grateful for the men and women who’ve dedicated their lives to making these kinds of differences in their students’ lives. This book makes a great resource not only for teachers but for parents, too. There’s a lot more happening in classrooms than we realize. It’s important not to take those gifts for granted and to find ways to offer support.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond

Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Girl in the Shadows
Gwenda Bond
Skyscape / Amazon

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Moira longs to prove to her father, a famous magician, that she has what it takes to carry on in the family tradition. The real problem? Moira’s dad doesn’t want her anywhere near magic. An invitation to audition for the Cirque American falls into Moira’s hands, and she leaps at the chance to make her own destiny. During her audition, Moira’s routine goes awry when she accidentally performs real magic. Suddenly Moira finds herself surrounded with questions about her impossible abilities and a secret society of similarly the similarly talented. Her absent mother seems to be the only one who can answer them, but finding her mother opens Moira to more danger than she could ever imagine. Her newfound Cirque family may be filled with as many enemies as allies.

My one regret in reading this book is that I didn’t read Girl on a Wire first, as the stories are pretty closely linked and feature some of the same characters. Also, Girl in the Shadows includes a bit of plot recap which reveals some key moments in Girl on a Wire. Honestly, I’d still read Girl on a Wire anyway, even though some of the surprises are spoiled.

I liked Moira. She’s fun and silly and has a lot of heart. It’s her heart which often makes her vulnerable to others, and I spent many pages biting my nails hoping for the characters in whom she places her trust to turn out deserving of it.

The descriptions of Moira’s performances make for cool elements. Often Moira connects her illusions to great female magicians. It made an interesting way to include some real historical information in an organic, unusual way. Her use of Dez as her assistant was another fun twist – sort of a feminist spin on the typical gender roles of magician and assistant.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. If you haven’t read Girl on a Wire, I do recommend you read that one first because Girl in the Shadows has some spoilers. See below for additional content information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Moira and Dez become romantically involved, and they engage in quite a bit of kissing. They spend several nights together, but other than a hint from Moira that the two did enough, though not everything, those moments remain private. At one point Moira makes it clear she’d like to have sex with him and it appears they do. Again, no description, but rather suggested that kissing moves to touching and on from there.

Spiritual Content
Moira learns of a missing coin that promises luck and power to its bearer. A secret society of people with magical abilities desperately want the coin for its power. Moira describes her power as a cup filled with magic. As she expends energy to perform magic, the volume in the cup lowers. She’s told that if she empties her cup, she’ll die.

Violent Content
Moira meets a creepy guy hanging around playing poker with some of the circus members. At one point he beats up one of the performers. In another instance, she witnesses him smash a boy’s hand with a hammer as punishment when he fails to complete a task on time.

Drug Content
Eighteen year-old Moira drinks champagne to celebrate her success.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Top Ten Underrated Books

Blogger's Favorites, Clean Fiction, Lists, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, ,

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme lists underrated books, or books with fewer than two thousand ratings on Goodreads. I’ve talked about a lot of these books before. Some are indie or small press novels. Others remain largely undiscovered for reasons I can’t quite figure. All are books I would happily pick up and read all over again.

Top Ten Underrated Books

Glass Girl by Laura Anderson Kurke

You know when you find one of those books where the writing itself is as beautiful as the story? Glass Girl is like that to me. Big emotions, great characters, and a totally swoon-worthy romance. I’m no cowgirl, but I totally loved this Wyoming story.

To Get to You by Joanne Bischof

This one took me by surprise. After reading the back cover copy, I wasn’t totally sure what I’d be getting into. Something about best friends and a cross-country trip? Reuniting with an estranged parent? It sounded a little Hallmark-y to me, in all honesty. Bischof won me over with her straightforward writing. She kept it real when it came to Riley’s relationship with his dad. I liked the way she set up the relationships – the history between Riley and his parents, and his developing relationship with the girl.

The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill

Seriously. If you have a girl in early teens and you’re looking for clean, funny books with a lot of heart, and you haven’t read anything by Stephanie Morrill, just stop now and fix that. I always laugh. I always cry. I always wish for another chapter. Good stuff. (Did I mention she has a historical mystery coming out next year?! I. Can’t. Wait!!!)

I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke

Every time I read historical fiction, I think I should read more of it because I enjoy it so much, especially when it’s as done as well as Christy Award-winning author Cathy Gohlke’s novels. This novel goes deep and paints the Civil War in stark detail. For history fans interested in a clean read, this is a must.

Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart

I love when authors tackle difficult subjects with poise and honesty, and that’s just what Carla Stewart does in her debut novel Chasing Lilacs. Twelve year-old Sammie faces her mother’s mental health issues and suicide during a time (the 1950s) when these things were hushed up. It’s a bit darker than some of my other selections here, but still a worthy read.

Wind and Shadow by Kathy Tyers

Okay, don’t read the Goodreads copy because it’s really confusing. This book is a continuation of Tyers’ Firebird series, so it’s probably best to start there. I read this one first, and I promise it’s not as confusing as Goodreads makes it sound. Wind Haworth was my favorite character. She’s a young diplomat trying to find her place in a very tense politically volatile situation. I really liked the marriage of politics and sci-fi in this novel.

Liberty by Annie Laurie Cechini

This is a light, fun sci-fi story that I think would appeal to fans of Firefly. A quirky crew and a space mission. What’s not to like? Definitely worth checking this one out.

Update – sorry. It looks like this one is currently out of print!

Mercy’s Prince by Katy Huth Jones

I remember being really impressed with the fact that the characters don’t whine when they’re faced with really tough choices. (I mean, let’s face it. Whining can ruin a great story. Even Luke Skywalker’s whining got old, right?) I found the whole can-do attitude and the story itself really intriguing and refreshing.

Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson

I love fairy tales retold, so as soon as I saw this retelling of Cinderella, I was intrigued. This isn’t a classic Cinderella. Davidson’s heroine finds herself recruited to spy for an unknown Lord who promises, in exchange, the one thing she wants most: freedom from her step-mother’s domain. What will she do when completing her task requires her to betray the prince with whom she’s falling in love?

Curio by Evangeline Denmark

I read this book months ago and I still wake up thinking about it sometimes. I loved the story-within-a-story element to this novel. What is it about a boy with wings that I find so intriguing, too? Gah. I loved it. If you’re a fan of dystopian stories or steampunk, you definitely have to check this one out.

Have you read these books?

If you’ve read and enjoyed any of these books, help the author out. Take a few minutes and rate them on Goodreads and post a quick review! You don’t have to do anything fancy. Think of two things you liked and a book or genre that you found similarly enjoyable whose readers might also enjoy the book. Post, and you’re done!

Doing this really helps an author out. Amazon and other sites have goofy rules about what promotional tools authors can access based on the number of reviews posted for their work.

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Review: Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Historical, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,

Paper Wishes
Lois Sepahban
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Ten year-old Manami loves her home on peaceful Bainbridge Island. Then her family and other Japanese American members of the community are forced to relocate to internment camps. Manami tries to smuggle her family’s dog, Yujiin, into the camp, but is forced to leave him behind. The foreign circumstances and grief over her lost dog cause her to stop speaking. Instead, Manami expresses herself through drawings she creates every night. She draws memories of Yujiin and writes asking him to find her family. She will only find her voice again if she can work through her guilt over losing Yujiin.

This realistic debut tackles a dark moment in US history, when in 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the incarceration of many Japanese Americans. As is so typical of the experience of a child, Manami focuses on one traumatic change—having to leave her dog behind—and this becomes representative to her of all that her family has lost and the grief they suffer. Sepahban’s story stays true to many elements of the historical account of Manzanar, an internment camp in California. While this is a heavy subject for middle readers, the tale walks a fine balance between capturing the true injustice of the camps without relaying too much for young readers to understand.

I love that an author has written something about this moment in our history. I think too often we want to forget the bleakest moments, especially in our own history. To do so leaves us vulnerable to making the same mistakes again. Certainly this story comes as a timely reminder even today, that to judge an entire group of people by the actions of a very small number of radicals, is not only tragic but terrible and wrong.

When I read Paper Wishes, it reminded me in some ways of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. In Number the Stars, Lowry follows the story of a girl whose best friend must go into hiding because she is Jewish. While the story doesn’t delve into the true horrors of Nazi occupied Holland, it does give readers a view into those events that is child-sized, both in its simplicity and its relating of historical facts.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Manami learns that her brother has a girlfriend, and her family is unhappy about it. She wrestles with her own feelings about the relationship.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Manami learns of a riot in the camp. Her parents rush her inside and away from noises of an angry crowd. One boy has been killed. Another dies soon after. She’s largely sheltered from the actual events.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: The Crowd by Alleece Balts

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

The Crowd
Alleece Balts
Available January 10, 2016

Amazon | Goodreads | Author web site

Ella’s excitement over her acceptance into a prestigious school quickly fades when she has her first run-in with the Crowd. These future politicians and business leaders possess the power to make life miserable for the other students. When Jackson, the Crowd leader, turns his attention to Ella, she wants nothing more than to slip back into anonymity. Only her friendship with Lucas, a boy from another school, gives her any joy. With each new challenge the Crowd tosses her way, Ella reminds herself of her father’s words: be kind. Her mother quotes Eleanor Roosevelt, Ella’s namesake, and Ella strives to live up to those lofty words. But if she’s going to find peace at school, she’ll have to take down the Crowd.

One of the things I liked about this book was how often the people and relationships in Ella’s life turned out to be different than they first seemed. She’d make judgments about the people around her and then have to decide whether or not to shift her expectations as she gained more experience. I thought that was pretty realistically portrayed.

The story kind of follows two separate tracks. On one hand, it’s a romance. On the other, it’s a tale about bullying. Most of the time I thought those two ideas played well with each other, but there were moments where the romance seemed to overshadow the other story elements. Overall, this didn’t lessen the enjoyment for me. I just sometimes forgot that there was more going on than blossoming love.

The faith elements come through naturally, and I enjoyed the way those moments unfolded. I liked how her faith was integrated with the wise voices in her life, like her dad’s reminders to be kind and her mom’s Eleanor Roosevelt quotes.

Overall, I thought this was a sweet, clean story. If you’re looking for a lighter read that still explores issues like bullying, maybe as an alternative to something like Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, check out The Crowd.

Cultural Elements
Most of the characters in The Crowd are or appear to be white. Ella becomes friends with a girl named Jayla, who is the only African-American student at their school. Ella’s friend Lucas is described as Latin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity. There are a couple of crude comments. For example, one boy makes a comment to another boy about wanting to “bang” a girl.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. A boy and girl fall asleep on a bed after talking for hours.

Spiritual Content
Ella’s faith is extremely important to her. She often prays for guidance. She and her aunt study proverbs together and attend church regularly. Ella volunteers to sing in the choir, but becomes discouraged when it feels more like performance than worship.

Violent Content
Kids at school pick on Ella. They do some hurtful things along the lines of ruining her skirt by placing a broken pen in her seat.

Ella learns some town history in which a boy shot two girls before killing himself in a school shooting. Another girl gets shot when a gun accidentally goes off.

Drug Content
Ella hears rumors about Jackson’s wild past involving a lot of drinking. Ella’s dad achieved great success as a musician in a rock band, and he lived a hard party life until becoming a Christian and leaving the band. We don’t learn many details about either Jackson’s rumored past or Ella’s dad’s rock star days. There are no descriptions of alcohol or drug use, just references to the fact that they happened.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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